Forever
by UnOriginalOne
Summary: We've been toegther for tweleve years, but twelves years isn't enough this us is gonna last forever. AU. Future Fic. SV


Title: Forever

Author: Chickiee-Dee

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I don't Alias or anything associated with it.

Summary: "We've been together for twelve years, but twelve years isn't enough, this –us- is gonna last forever." AU. Future Fic.

Spoilers/Timeline: Post Resurrection. But since Season 4 has yet to air in Australia, and I respect people's wishes to remain spoiler free, there are no season 4 spoilers in this fic. Authors Notes: I want to dedicate this to Jayme, Happy Birthday Dude! Hope you like it…

Forever 

The sun shines into through the window, disturbing the room's occupants. It's been another long night as bouts of unimaginable pain weaved through her body, keeping the both of them up til the early hours. The man next to her stirs in his sleep and turns to face the woman with whom he shares his life. She squeezed her eyes shut again, something he'd come to realise only recently, that she did when the pain became worse. "Sydney, honey, do you want me to get you a Doctor?" She shook her head violently from side to side, indicating her disapproval at the idea. He came closer to her, running his fingers through her damp hair, "Sweetie, you don't need to do this."

"No Doctor," she croaked out, leaning her head so it came into contact with his hand, "All I need is you."

"Syd…"

"No, Michael, no." He relented and moved his chair closer to the bed, continuing to stoke her hair, hoping it would lull her back into a semi-peaceful sleep. As he watched her drift off, he thought of days past. It had been almost fifteen years since The Alliance fell, and they'd been happily married for the last ten, she'd been sick for almost that long, he remembers as the bile rises in his throat.

Ten years earlier 

_Sydney came bounding into the room, a plastic stick held in one hand. Vaughn looked up as he heard her footsteps thundering down the hall. She came straight over to him, and shoved the stick under his nose, "We're having a baby," she told him, her smile wide. An equally large smile broke out on his face, and he picked her up, twirling her around once. "I love you Mrs Vaughn," he said, kissing her gently._

_"I love you too Mr Vaughn," she told him, pulling him towards her for another kiss. _

_Three days later they sat together in their Doctor's office, waiting eagerly for him to confirm their happy news. After a few more minutes of flipping absentmindly through trashy magazines, they were called into the Consultation room. Sitting down in the chairs opposite the larger man, they clasped their hands together firmly, while they waited for him to speak. "Mrs Vaughn, congratulations, you're seven weeks pregnant." The smile from three days previous re-appeared on her face as she hugged her husband again. _

Vaughn thought about that day as if it were yesterday. They were both so excited, their first child. It was something they'd wanted for years, and after being married for only a few short weeks, it seemed that their dream was about to come true. A few days later their world fell apart.

"Vaughn," he heard Sydney gasp. Immediately he was on his feet, running towards the small kitchen where Sydney was preparing their dinner. "Vaughn it hurts," she said as he came hurtling around the corner, finding Sydney half-standing against the wall, clutching her stomach.

The Ambulance arrived minutes later, following Vaughn's frantic call. They were taken to UCLA Medical Centre and Sydney was admitted quickly. After several hours, their Doctor returned.

"Mrs Vaughn, I'm sorry, we believe that you've suffered a miscarriage. That would account for the pain and the bleeding that you mentioned. I'm sorry, there was nothing that we could do." Sydney burst into tears and huddled herself into a ball on the bed, trying to shut the world out. Vaughn tried to choke back his tears as he took his wife in his arms, trying to offer her some comfort.

Sydney took it somewhat personally when she lost their baby, blaming herself for not taking better care of her body in years past. She was still in hospital when her illness was first discovered.

A somber Sydney sat on the bed, waiting patiently for her Doctor to return hopefully with her discharge papers. Vaughn came in, a solemn look etched on his face. "Vaughn?" she asked, confused.

"Syd…" he was about to continue but her Doctor entered the room, a brown folder in his hand. "Am I finally getting out of here?" she asked, beginning to slide herself off the uncomfortable mattress. "Mrs Vaughn, I'm afraid you won't be leaving yet. I'd like you stay here for a few more days, so we can run more tests."

"Wha…why? I don't get it."

"When we conducted the scans yesterday, we discovered a shadow on one of your ovaries and with your permission, I'd like to run some more tests so we can diagnose this. I believe this is what caused you to miscarry." Sydney considered his comment for a second, "Yes, I want to find out what this is."

"I'll give you some time together. I'm just going to make the arrangements." He left the room and Sydney took Vaughn's hand in her own, trying to keep the tears from spilling over. "I have to know what this is…"

"I know Sydney…I know," he lifted her hand up to his mouth and placed a gentle kiss there. "I love you Syd."

"I love you too."

Sydney's results were back a few days later, in the meantime she'd been released and was resting at home, still trying to wrap her head around the idea that she'd lost the baby she so desperately wanted. Sydney was sleeping at home when the call came.

The high-pitched ring of the telephone sounded throughout the spacious apartment. Rolling over, Sydney noticed that Vaughn wasn't laying next to her, as he had been when she fell asleep several hours earlier. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she stood up and started off in the general direction of the phone, hoping to answer it before the machine did. "Hello?" she said into the receiver, her voice husky from sleep.

"Mrs Vaughn?" the male voice replied.

"Yes?" Sydney said, slightly confused.

"Mrs Vaughn, it's Doctor Winters, your results have arrived from the Lab and I'd like you to come in so we can discuss them. When would be good for you?"

"Um…is tomorrow morning alright?" She heard him rustling through papers, which must have been laying on his desk. "Nine am?" he asked.

"Yes, we'll see you then." She hung up the phone, sitting it on the bench.

Vaughn came in a few minutes later, finding Sydney staring at the bench, seemingly oblivious to everything else around her. "Syd?" he asked approaching her slowly, so he didn't frighten her. She looked up, fear plastered across her face. "Dr Winters called, we have to go in tomorrow at nine. My results are in." Vaughn ran his hand through her hair, and kissed her forehead gently, hoping to ease some of her fears. "Vaughn…I'm scared," she admitted softly, "What if somethings really wrong?"

"Then we'll get through it. I promise."

It was a sleepless night in the Vaughn household. Sydney tossed and turned all night, trying to lull herself into slumber, but her attempts were futile and she ended up keeping Vaughn awake most of the night too. When they arrived at the hospital the next morning, both were exhausted.

Sydney yawned again as they entered the off-white waiting area outside her Doctor's office. "Sweetie, you ok?" Vaughn asked, stifling a yawn of his own. She nodded slightly, not wanting to voice what she was really thinking. They took a seat in the cushy looking chairs that lined one wall, while they waited patiently for Dr Winters to appear. "Sydney Vaughn?" he called after a few minutes. Sydney stood up slowly, trying to keep herself steady by hanging onto Vaughn's hand tightly. Together they followed the Doctor into his cream office, both taking a seat opposite the aging man. As she sat, Sydney eyed the brown folder that rested on the surface of the oak desk, she watched intently as Dr Winters picked it up, preparing to read her the results. She clutched Vaughn's hand tighter when he began to read from one of the several pages that she could see were attached to the top corner of the brown cardboard. "Mrs Vaughn, you have two large cysts on your left ovary."

"Is that why she lost the baby?" Vaughn asked.

"We're not entirely sure. But these cysts…it's possible that they're cancerous. We'd have to operate to find out for sure, and if possible we would remove them completely."

Sydney was scheduled for surgery first thing the next morning. After her appointment with Dr Winters she was once again admitted to the hospital, so she could be monitored before her surgery. Vaughn went to call Nadia and Weiss, deliberately not calling Jack, who Sydney very rarely spoke to anymore.

Nadia came into Sydney's small room, sitting next to her half-sister, unsure of what she was meant to say. Vaughn and Sydney hadn't told anyone that they were having a baby; they'd wanted to wait until Sydney was a little further into the pregnancy. "Hi," Nadia said softly, thinking that that was as good of a place to start as any. Sydney turned over so she faced her younger sibling, "Hi," she repeated, "Did Vaughn call you?"

"Yeah he did, how are you?" Sydney looked at her blankly, "Stupid question, huh? I meant how are you holding up?"

"I've been better," Sydney replied quietly.

"Michael told me about the baby, I'm sorry." Nadia reached over and tried to wipe away the tears that were forming in Sydney's eyes. "Eric's coming in to see you later, he got called into Ops. And Michael will be back later too."

"That's sweet but I'm fine, I just want to get this over with and get on with my life." Nadia didn't say anything in reply; instead she chose to sit there in silence with her older sister, hoping that her presence helped ease her fears some how.

Vaughn stood up as he saw the Doctor coming from the Operating Room, clad in blue scrubs. "Mr Vaughn?"

"Yes."  
"Would you like to come with me?" he said, leading Vaughn away from Nadia and Weiss, who'd been waiting with him since before Sydney was taken to the O.R. "The surgery was a success, we were able to remove both of the cysts, and we sent a sample away to the Lab, so we can find out whether there are any cancer cells present. We should have the results late tonight or first thing tomorrow."  
"Where is she?"

"She's in recovery right now, but we'll transfer her back to her room in an hour or so, you'll be able to see her then."

"Thank you Doctor," Vaughn said, shaking the man's hand. He didn't respond, instead he nodded his head once and left Vaughn alone. Nadia and Weiss rushed up to him once the Doctor was gone, "Is she ok?" Nadia asked quickly.

"She's fine, they removed the cysts, and they're waiting for Lab results to come back."

"That's great man," Weiss said, giving Vaughn a small hug.

"Thanks."

"Can we see her?" Nadia asked.

"Not yet. They're gonna transfer her back to the ward in an hour or so, but we have to wait till then."

An hour later Vaughn entered Sydney's hospital room quietly, she was still sleeping, so he sat next to her, picking up her hand, rubbing his fingers over the soft skin on it's back. "Hey sweetie. Everything went well. Nadia and Weiss are waiting outside, they want to see you. I love you." Letting his eyes run over her body, he noticed how pale she looked, her normally tan skin, almost as white as the sheets which covered her body. Her right hand had an IV attached, and a heart monitor was clasped firmly on one finger. He'd been sitting there for almost an hour before she began to wake up. Her fingers were the first to move, gently tapping his palm, as she slowly came out of the anaesthetic. The first distinct noise she made was a loud groan, and then her eyes fluttered open. She took her hand out of his and tried to pull the oxygen tube off, "No Syd, leave it there." She put her hand back on the bed, her cold fingers searching for his warm ones. "Sweetie, I'm just going to get Dr Winters, I'll be back in a minute." He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and went out the door.

The next morning Dr Winters came into Sydney's room, "Good morning Sydney, how are you feeling?"  
"Sore," she said, "And really tired." He nodded, and looked to his pages of results before speaking again, "We have your test results here. I'm afraid the news isn't good," a tear slipped from Sydney's eye, caught by Vaughn's finger, as he wiped it away, "We took a sample of one of the cysts and sent it to the Lab to be tested. Mrs Vaughn, they found cancer cells, you have ovarian cancer. I'm sorry." Sydney was numb, she wanted to cry, but couldn't, her body froze. "What do we do?" Vaughn asked, his hand moving up to stroke Sydney's hair. "We run more tests to see if it's spread. It is possible that it hasn't, but if it has, we may not be able to operate. I've spoken to one of my colleagues Dr Markham, and he's on his way down now, he'll be able to give you more information than I can." As if on cue, another man stepped into the room, standing at the foot of the small bed, "I'm Dr Markham."

"Michael Vaughn, this is my wife Sydney." He shook Vaughn's hand politely.

"Now I understand that you've been diagnosed with ovarian cancer," Sydney nodded ever so slightly, "You had surgery yesterday to remove these tumours?" Again Sydney nodded, "I would like to run some more tests to see if the cancer has spread, and I'd also like to start you on a course of Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy, which should hopefully kill any other cancer cells that we can't locate."

Sydney began the treatment a few days later, more tests had been run and no evidence was found that the cancer had spread. Sydney was on Medical Leave from the Agency, and Vaughn took an extended leave of absence so he could spend as time with her as possible. A few weeks into Sydney's treatment, her hair began to fall out, so she decided to shave her head, instead of watching each day as more of her brown locks fell lifelessly from her head. Weiss and Nadia were in almost everyday to visit her, and although Jack had been called when her cancer was diagnosed, he showed little interest in her condition, seeming to finally take her advice from all those years ago: "If you want to help me, stay away from me." Dixon came into visit her frequently, bringing Steven and Robin with him, along with fresh bouquets of flowers to keep her dull hospital room as bright as possible. Sydney was released from the Hospital seven months later.

Vaughn helped her walk up the small flight of stairs to their house. Once inside, he settled her on the couch and went outside to help Weiss and Nadia bring her stuff in from the cars. By the time they'd finished bringing everything in, Sydney was sleeping peacefully, so Vaughn grabbed a thick blanket to throw over her, protecting her fragile frame against the chilly winter air. Motioning for Nadia and Weiss to join him in the kitchen, he grabbed them each a beer from the fridge and they arranged themselves on the bar stools. "She asleep?" Weiss asked, looking over towards the couch.

"Yeah, I think she's a little worn out."

"Understandable. Is this it? Is she in remission now?" He shrugged,

"We're still waiting for the last lot of tests to come back, but I'm hoping that it's over. I don't know how much more Sydney can take. I don't know how much more I can take."

"When are you going back?"  
"In the New Year, not before then. I wanna stay home and look after her."

"Is Syd gonna come back?" Nadia asked.

"Not sure, I mean you know Syd, she's not happy behind a desk, she'll wanna be in the field, and I'm not sure it's such a good idea." The three of them talked for a while longer before Weiss stood up, grabbing his girlfriend's hand, "We better get going. Night Vaughn."

"Night guys," Nadia gave him a quick hug and Weiss shook his hand as Vaughn walked them out.

Vaughn returned to the CIA in January, almost nine months after Sydney was diagnosed. She was feeling a little stronger nowadays, but little things wore her out easily. She went for her next check up two weeks after Vaughn went back to work. he took the day off and went with her.

"Mrs Vaughn, how are you feeling?" Dr Markham asked, as they sat down opposite him.

"Better."

"Any nausea or dizzy spells?"

"Nope. I'm still tired a lot though."

"That's to be expected. I'd like to take some blood today, and also do a general check-up, blood pressure, weight, etcetera."

"That's fine," Sydney told him as he prepared to take a blood sample.

Sydney went straight to bed when they got back from the Doctor, the car trip taking a lot out of her. Vaughn went in to check on her that evening, and she was still peacefully sleeping, a contented look on her face. Vaughn left her alone and went back out to the kitchen to do some more work while he waited for dinner to finish cooking.

Sydney returned to work in June, thirteen months after she was diagnosed. Although she was assigned as a desk officer, she was happy to back at work after such a long absence and was excited to see her work mates again. She was feeling stronger as each week passed, and was thrilled to note that her hair was finally beginning to grow back again, albeit slowly.

Thirty months after she was first diagnosed, Sydney began to feel ill again, it started out slowly, she was feeling slightly fatigued, which she put down to the long hours she was putting in at work, and the rare bouts of nausea, which she hid from Vaughn, not wanting to alarm him, since she thought nothing of them, until she collapsed in the middle of Ops one day.

She woke up slowly, the bright fluorescent lights making her a little dizzy. "Sydney," she heard Vaughn's gentle voice. Looking over to her left, she saw her husband sitting there, concern etched across his face. "Syd, what happened?"

"I dunno, I haven't been feeling well, I was gonna mention it to the Doctor at my next check-up."

"Syd, you should've told me, you shouldn't have been working if you're sick." Sydney didn't have time to respond before Dr Markham entered the room. "Mrs Vaughn, how have you been feeling?"

"Tired, and nauseas," Sydney admitted, ignoring the look Vaughn gave her.

"For how long?"  
"A couple of weeks, I guess, I thought it'd pass."

"We've taken some blood, and we're waiting for the results to come back, in the meantime, I want to keep you in for observation." Sydney nodded her agreement and Dr Markham left the room.

The cancer is back, they were told that afternoon when Sydney's blood results came in. she was taken off for more tests so they could determine exactly where the cancer was. Her stomach, Dr Markham informed them, and it looks like it's spreading. Surgery was scheduled for the next day, after which another course of Chemo and Radiation treatment was ordered.

The next afternoon as Vaughn waited for news of Sydney's condition, Jack came into the Waiting Room,

"Why are you here?" Vaughn asked the older man harshly.

"Sydney's sick, why do you think I'm here?"  
"You didn't care before, why do you care now?"

"She's my daughter Agent Vaughn, and she needs me."

"No, she needed you two and a half years ago when she was diagnosed, where the hell were you then?" Jack didn't respond.

This time the surgery wasn't a success, Surgeons were unable to remove the tumour without breaking it and spreading the tiny cells throughout her body. All they had to rely on was the Chemo and Radiation, hoping that it would shrink the tumour and allow Sydney more time to spend with her husband.

This course of treatment lasted much longer and Sydney was hospitalised for close to a year. Sometime during that year, she resigned from the CIA, deciding instead to focus on herself, instead of work, wanting to enjoy what time she had left with her husband and friends. Weiss and Nadia came in one day while she was resting, their smiles wide.

"Hey Syd," Nadia said, as she came into the room, trying to stop Weiss from tickling her sides. They'd been together for almost three years now, and were living together in Weiss's apartment. "Hey guys," Sydney said, her voice barely above a whisper, "What's happening?" They looked at each other before Weiss spoke,

"We're getting married," he said as Nadia held out her hand, showing Sydney the simple diamond ring that Weiss had given her, "And…" he continued.

"I'm fourteen weeks pregnant."

"Congratulations," Sydney said quietly, trying to hide the tears that were beginning to fall.

Sydney was released from Hospital just before Christmas the following year, she'd been in hospital for almost thirteen months. Just days after her release, Nadia gave birth to her first child, a little girl, who they named Sydney. When Weiss told them that they'd named their first child after her, Sydney protested, but gave up when she figured that she wasn't going to win the argument and if they wanted to name their daughter Sydney, then they would.

The tumour on her Stomach didn't go away with the Chemo, although it shrunk a fair bit, and for almost eighteen months Sydney was reasonably healthy, spending a lot of time with her niece, while Weiss and Vaughn worked. Nadia and Weiss married when little Sydney was nine months old, and Sydney was selected as Nadia's Maid of Honour. As expected, Vaughn was Weiss's Best Man, and after the Reception, the happy couple left little Sydney in the trusting care of her Aunt and Uncle, while they went away for a weeks Honeymoon.

Sydney was in and out of Hospital over the next few months, it'd been almost six years since she was first told that she had Cancer, and since they'd discovered it in her Stomach it was very slowly spreading throughout her body, and she was told there was little they could do to stop it. Sydney and Vaughn argued frequently that she was just giving up after she didn't agree with more treatment. Her response was that she would rather spend as much time with him as she possibly could, rather than spend the rest of her days in a Hospital bed.

Over the next two years the cancer continued to spread through her body, tumours beginning to form on various internal organs, many of which were inoperable. Sydney was put on heavy pain medication and spent most of her days sleeping, as a result. She began to lose weight at a rapid rate and was given vitamins to supplement her diet, her Doctors' hoping that it would help her maintain a reasonable weight, despite her body's slow deterioration.

Watching her young namesake growing up kept Sydney sane, the little girl was almost three years old now, and looked more and more like her mother everyday. Nadia and Weiss were planning to have another child as soon as possible, and three months later Nadia came to Sydney bubbling over from excitement.

"I'm pregnant," Nadia said, as she came into Sydney and Vaughn's house.

"Congratulations sweetie," Sydney told her younger sister. Sydney had long ago resigned to the fact that she wouldn't be able to have a child of her own, instead she relished in the joy of her sister's news. "How far along are you?"

"Eleven weeks. Eric is so excited."

"I'll bet. I'm so happy for you guys," Sydney said, hugging Nadia tightly. Once Sydney relinquished Nadia from her grip, the younger woman sat down on the couch opposite where Sydney had long ago taken up residence. She looked at the coffee table, noticing the array of pill bottles that covered the surface. "What did the Doctor say?"

"Still spreading, they can't do anything."  
"Syd, you could have the Chemo again." Sydney shook her head,

"No, I'm sick of that, all it does is make you feel lousy and I'd rather not spend the rest of my days like that. All that the Chemo will do is delay the inevitable, I know that Vaughn doesn't want to accept it, but this cancer… it will kill me eventually. There's nothing we can do."

"I'm sorry Syd, you shouldn't have to go through all of this…"

Sydney was admitted to Hospital again seven months later after her Doctor discovered that the cancer had spread to her bones. That was it, what Sydney knew was coming all along, because once the cancer was in your bones, you were done for so to speak, it was only a matter of time before it spread to her brain and ultimately took her life.

Vaughn watched intently as she whimpered in pain. He had to admire her, she didn't like taking the pain meds that her Doctors recommended to her, to at least ease her suffering a little. They'd been informed three days ago that the cancer had reached her brain, and it's effects were making themselves known, she was quickly losing feeling down one side of her body, and was losing control of her bowel and bladder functions. It killed Vaughn to see her like this, but he was comforted when he realised that she didn't have much life left in her. "Vaughn…" he heard her moan, and when he looked over he saw the fear that was reflected in her eyes. Her breath was coming out in short pants and he quickly pulled the oxygen mask that rested above her bed down. "I'm here sweetie, you don't have to worry." She lifted the mask away and started to speak, sensing that her time on the earth was diminishing by the second. "Vaughn…Michael…I love you…"

"I love you too. Here put this back on," he said when her breathing became raspy again. She pushed it away, "Vaughn…no…let me…say this…" he nodded, watching as she licked her dry lips, "Vaughn, we've been together for…together for…twelve years…" she paused to gulp down some more oxygen, "But twelve years isn't enough…" she tried to wipe away the tears that were forming in her husbands eyes, "This – us – is gonna last…forever…I love you Michael…"

"I love you too," he told her wiping away her tears and his, watching as the woman he loved cried in pain. Nadia and Weiss came into the room with their two children, and were horrified as they watched Sydney writhe in pain on the bed. "Get Dr Markham," Vaughn yelled when he saw them come in. Weiss complied with his request and ran off to find Sydney's Doctor. He returned seconds later, Dr Markham in tow. Nadia and Weiss stood back, watching as the Doctor checked her over, Vaughn clutching her hand tightly. "It's time…" he said, leaving the room to allow them some time together. Sydney heard the Doctors assessment and all the room's occupants could see the fear return to her eyes and none of them knew what to say to her. Deep down they all knew the day would come when Cancer claimed her life, and while her condition had been deteriorating recently, they'd all selfishly wanted her to live longer, even if it meant she was suffering greatly. Weiss pulled Vaughn to one side, and quietly suggested that they all have a minute to say goodbye to Sydney, and he offered to go first, because he knew that when Sydney died, she wanted Vaughn to be by her side. Vaughn relayed Weiss's plan to the others and Weiss was left alone in the room with Sydney. "I'm meant to say something important," he said, "But truth is Syd, I don't know what to say…" She lifted the oxygen mask away, "Look after…them…for me…"

"I will, I promise, only if you promise not to let me screw up the kids too bad, let me know if I'm stuffing up royally." She nodded slightly, not having the energy to lift the mask away. Weiss kissed her forehead gently, "Bye Sydney." When he lifted his head back up she could see the tears in his eyes, and he wiped them away as he left the room. Nadia came in next, watching as Sydney shifted the mask slightly so she could speak…

Vaughn watched from outside the room as Sydney and Nadia said their final farewells. He had little Sydney sitting on his lap, watching as her father tried to quiet her crying brother. Vaughn was trying to collect his thoughts while he waited for Nadia to come back out, and by the time she appeared moments later, he still had no idea what he was going to say. Once he'd handed his niece back to her mother, he entered the small hospital room that had been home to Sydney for several months. He approached the bed, watching as she clenched one hand into a fist, trying to find an outlet for the pain. Her other hand lay dead still on the bed, that side having lost feeling the day before. "Syd, baby," he said, picking up her hand and un-balling the fist. She managed to muster up the strength to turn her head so she faced her husband. "I love you Sydney," tears started rolling down her cheeks, and he wiped them away. "I don't know how I'm supposed to live without you…I don't know what I'm supposed to do…so I'm not going to say goodbye…because it isn't…what you said before about us lasting forever, it's true Syd, I'll never love anyone as much as I've loved you." He paused to wipe away his own tears, watching the fear spread across her features as the pain become steadily worse, and her breath became raspy, "You don't need to be scared baby, I promise I'm always gonna be with you…I love you Sydney Anne Vaughn." Watching her carefully, he saw the pain leave her eyes ever so slowly, as a look of peace and calm came across her face, as if his promise had reassured her somehow. He shifted her oxygen mask to kiss her one last time and when he pulled back, her eyes fell closed for the last time.

Weiss and Nadia were watching at the window of Sydney's room, and when they saw Vaughn rest his head in his hands, they knew that she was gone. Weiss quietly excused himself to get the Doctor and Nadia went into the room, her two young children in tow. "Vaughn…" he looked over, his eyes brimming with tears, "I'm so sorry…" she went over to him, grabbing him in a big hug, "She's gone to a better place, she's not in pain now…"

"I know…" he whispered, "It doesn't make it any easier…"

As they were leaving the Hospital that night, for the last time, Nadia handed Vaughn a crisp white envelope, "Sydney wanted me to give you this…" He took it from her, thanking her quietly, and when Weiss dropped him back at the apartment him and Sydney had shared for so long, he went inside, locking the door behind him. Vaughn sat on the couch, the envelope sitting on the coffee table in front of him. After almost half an hour he gathered up the willpower he needed to read Sydney's letter.

Vaughn,

If you're reading this then that means I'm gone, that the Cancer finally got what it wanted. As I write this, you're working and I'm lying on the couch, trashy TV blaring in the background, trying to ignore the ever-present pain.

You asked me a long time ago why I'd decided not to continue with the Chemo, and I told you that I didn't want to have the treatment because I knew there was no way that I could win this fight, Cancer already had. While that is true, a big part of me didn't want to have to watch you watch me suffer. I didn't want to see your tears, when the pain in my body became almost unbearable, I didn't want you to have to see me whither away more than I already have. I didn't want this, because when you hurt, I hurt, and watching you suffer hurts me more than any Cancer related pain ever could.

You mean everything to me, you always have and I want you to know that whenever the pain became unbearable for me, and the meds didn't help, then I'd think of you, and it would all dissolve away. Knowing that I have your love is better than any medication that Doctors could prescribe.

I don't want you to mourn my passing, I truly have gone to a better place, I'm not in pain anymore, and I'm not alone, your love will be with me always. I love you more than I've loved anyone else in my life, I always have, and I always will, nothing'll change that, not even death.

I love you Michael Vaughn…never forget that…

Forever yours

Sydney.

The paper dropped from his hands, and as his tears fell, he was strangely comforted, her passing had left a void in his heart, but knowing that she was no longer in pain, left him feeling content. As he sat there on that couch where she had spent so much time in the past few years, her presence enveloped him, her love shining down from the heavens, giving him the strength he needed to keep on living, for her.

**The End**

A/N: What did people think? Review and let me know…:heart: Alyce.


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